Fitchburg,
MA Rubber Factory Contaminated Site Becomes an Urban Oasis

US EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant Enables The Hope Rubber
Factory Site to Transform into the Beautiful Riverfront Park

The fenced in and charred foundation of the Hope Rubber Plant off
Boulder Drive in the historic Fitchburg, Massachusetts was transformed
from a contaminated and potentially dangerous urban eyesore to the
beautiful and relaxing Riverfront Park complete with outdoor theater,
nature trails, and expansive green lawns. This redevelopment was
made possible in part by a 2001 Brownfields Assessment Grant of
$200,000 from the US EPA Brownfields Program. The redevelopment
of the over 1.6 acre site is part of the city Planning Department
and Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority’s commitment to revitalization.
The park has enabled this large New England community, hit hard
by economic downfall in past years, to begin a period of economic
and esthetic rebirth.

Bordering the Nashua River, the 28 square mile city, with a population
of around 41,000 residents, is just fifty miles west of Boston and
25 miles north of Worcester. It encompasses open rural spaces and
a relatively vacant urban core. With an unemployment rate nearly
double the national average in 1999 and with almost 12% of the population
below the poverty rate (5% above the state average) this troubled
community was in need of help.

When the General Electric plant in town closed in 1998, over 600
residents were without a job and the number of deficient and vacant
buildings, already apparent throughout the city, continued to grow.
The GE shutdown spurred a needed urban renaissance within the city.
By May of that year a complete Urban Renewal Plan was prepared and
ready to be implemented. The selective renewal program targeted
urban brownfields including the large and contaminated 40 Commercial
Street location of the former Hope Rubber factory.

Hope Rubber, a plastic and rubber parts manufacturer, closed shop
in the 1990s. The massive 35,000 square foot building remained untouched
until the city Planning Department applied for an EPA Brownfields
Assessment Grant. The $200,000 grant, received in 2001, enabled
the Planning Department to hire an independent environmental assessment
firm. TRC Environmental Corporation was chosen to perform Phase
I, Phase II, and Risk Assessments on the site.

TRC’s assessments demonstrated that the abandoned industrial
property contained surface soils contaminated with lead and arsenic
that exceeded applicable MCP Reportable Concentrations. Groundwater
samples demonstrated that additional contaminants exceeded acceptable
MCP levels. These chemicals posed an unacceptable risk to human
health. Four underground storage tanks (USTs) were also found on
the property by TRC and later removed by Cyn Environmental Services
on behalf of the former owner of the property - Commercial Street
Realty Trust (CSRT). The USTs were found to contain fuel oil and
liquids. One UST had a small leak that leached petroleum hydrocarbons
and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the surrounding soil.
Asbestos-containing materials (ACMs) were also found within the
building by TRC and later removed by Patriots Environmental Corporation.

Within just two years,155 cubic yards of contaminated materials
were removed, eighteen inches of clean cover material was put into
place, the Riverside Park was developed, built, and opened with
a spectacular summer concert in its new theater on August 23, 2003.

The park was a collaborative effort that included residents in
every aspect of the clean-up and redevelopment. From small details
like bench and street lamp preference to the huge task of architectural
design firm selection, the local community lent their collaborative
hands to the effort. The Riverfront Park Citizens Committee, made
up of business leaders, residents, and government officials, hired
the Cambridge, MA architectural firm, Carol R. Associates, to design
the project. Construction of the park was completed by Weymouth,
MA developer, Northern Construction Services.

Phase I of the parks creation is now complete. The almost $530,000
project was funded by both the Executive Office of Environmental
Affairs and Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority and included removing
debris, filling the building hole, paving of walkways, lighting,
benches, plants, grass, trees, fencing and more.

The Riverfront Park, which meanders along the Nashua River in
downtown Fitchburg, is now the key element in the city’s proposed
$43 million Fitchburg Urban Revitalization Program. The almost two-acre
park includes a river promenade, green lawns and trees, and comfortable
benches for residence to lunch and relax on. The park also plans
to include a renovated railroad car to sell refreshments (highlighting
the city’s historic cargo shipping past), an enormous band
shell for musical and theatrical performances, and a structurally
renovated Old Iron Bridge during the second phase of the Riverfront
Park redevelopment. Phase II is expected to cost $700,000.

“The Fitchburg Riverfront Park provides people with a place
to enjoy the outdoors and the river as a community,”said Lisa
Wong of the Fitchburg Economic Development Office. “It has
proven that it has the potential to draw people back downtown.”

In 2003, the EPA awarded the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority
an additional $200,000 Assessment Grant so that 7 more brownfield
sites in the community can be assessed for contaminants. Armed with
this information the Fitchburg community will once again be prepared
to reclaim a portion of the blighted urban compact and experience
another environmental and economic victory like Riverfront Park.